[Madpaddy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... nservation

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Yangtze river dolphin, until recently one of the most endangered species on the planet, has been declared officially extinct following an intensive survey of its natural habitat.

The freshwater marine mammal, which could grow to eight feet long and weigh up to a quarter of a tonne, is the first large vertebrate forced to extinction by human activity in 50 years, and only the fourth time an entire evolutionary line of mammals has vanished from the face of the Earth since the year 1500.

Conservationists described the extinction as a "shocking tragedy" yesterday, caused not by active persecution but accidentally and carelessly through a combination of factors including unsustainable fishing and mass shipping.

In the 1950s, the Yangtze river and neighbouring watercourses had a population of thousands of freshwater dolphins, also known as Baiji, but their numbers have declined dramatically since China industrialised and transformed the Yangtze into a crowded artery of mass shipping, fishing and power generation. A survey in 1999 estimated the population of river dolphins was close to just 13 animals.

Historically, the species had been revered and achieved nearly demi-god status among fishermen who recounted tales of dolphins being reincarnations of drowned princesses. But in Mao's Great Leap Forward, the overthrowing of idols saw their protection lifted and they were hunted for food and their skin.

Sam Turvey, a conservation biologist at London Zoo, worked with Chinese government scientists to survey the entire 1,669km stretch of the Yangtze river downstream of the giant Three Gorges Dam to Shanghai, a region which has been the natural habitat for river dolphins.

The team scoured the river four times in two boats during the six-week survey, using high-powered binoculars to spot the dolphins. Sensitive hydrophones were towed behind to listen for their calls.

The researchers hoped that if any dolphins were spotted, they could be taken to a reserve in an oxbow lake which was once part of the Yangtze in the hope of boosting their numbers. But at the end of the survey, they had neither seen nor heard any sign of the dolphins, according to their report in the journal Biology Letters.

"We passed through what were supposed to be Baiji hotspots and every day there was nothing. The hopes of each person on the survey died at different points; everyone had a moment of realisation that we weren't going to find anything," said Dr Turvey.

Around half of all river dolphins were killed as a result of indiscriminate and often illegal fishing practices. Though banned for the past 30 years, some ships still drag long lines of unbaited hooks. "They just drift through the water snagging everything. They slash and entangle and suffocate the dolphins," said Dr Turvey. Low employment in the 1980s and 1990s saw a rise in unskilled fishing.

Dr Turvey said conservation organisations had been quick to call for action to protect the river dolphin, but many were too cautious to take meaningful action.

"The loss of such a unique and charismatic species is a shocking tragedy. The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20m years ago. This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life," Dr Turvey added.

[Madpaddy]

Sorry for putting this article in the wrong section. Mods can you move it please. I'm more than a bit bothered by this story, I think.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Madpaddy', 'N')O COMMENT

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Madpaddy', 'S')orry for putting this article in the wrong section. Mods can you move it please. I'm more than a bit bothered by this story, I think.

[Homesteader]

"The future has arrived, its just not equitably dispersed yet".

Anonymous

It is very sobering occurrence on several fronts. One, that it happened with full knowledge by the government and conservation organizations. Two, that people were driven to it by lack of food and money. Three, many of us may be faced with similar decisions in the future.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')hough banned for the past 30 years, some ships still drag long lines of unbaited hooks. "They just drift through the water snagging everything. They slash and entangle and suffocate the dolphins."

[FireJack]

Its no surprise. I suspect as conservation effort begin to crumble as money disapears well see the last of the megafauna driven to extinction. Before im dead (assuming I live another 50 years) I bet ill see the extinction of elephants, rinos, hippos, probably every species in the rain forests as the last of them are chopped and burned. Humans too mabey, well not that we have any hope now.

[Madpaddy]

Ditto Gideon,

And we are all responsible. I have Chinese made shit in my house the same as the next guy but I am strictly weaning myself off Chinese made stuff now. Bottom line is that 10% of the worlds population live in the area where the Dolphin lived and as we all know where humans are concerned there is only room for one top mammal.

[gnm]

Its really hard to NOT buy Chinese made crap now... But I try to every chance I get.

What depressing news...



-G

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gnm', 'I')ts really hard to NOT buy Chinese made crap now... But I try to every chance I get.

What depressing news...



-G

[Homesteader]

Yes, our household will not buy "made in china", be it food or merchandise. We all need to do that to the best of our abilities.

At best our respective governments and corporations are joined at the hip with the chinese, at worst they are bent over taking it hard, and by association so are we.

[Homesteader]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Homesteader', 'Y')es, our household will not buy "made in china", be it food or merchandise. We all need to do that to the best of our abilities.

At best our respective governments and corporations are joined at the hip with the chinese, at worst they are bent over taking it hard, and by association so are we.

[coyote]

This is indeed unbelievably sad... and infuriating. It's infuriating that people do what they do, with no thought for other creatures, for humanity, for the future, for the planet. Infuriating that the world has become irrevocably less rich by the actions of a few. And yet, it will happen again and again. The "first large vertebrate forced to extinction by human activity in 50 years"? Let's wait and see what the next 50 years have in store. Who's next? Polar bears? Orangutans? Gray whales? Salmon? How many will go? And what will it have been for? A few dollars more? A few more days of partying?

I get royally pissed off at our government here in the U.S., boy do I, but the things the Chinese government allows -- either with an official sanction or with an unofficial wink -- I also once made a strong effort to buy no products from China. I also failed. It was impossible. You know, whatever it is that the Chinese government allows... we sign our names, right on the dotted line, in invisible ink, by buying up all their plastic crap and their disgusting furs and the rest of it.

Our culture has indeed failed.

Not a very coherent post. Just a lament.

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('coyote', 'O')ur culture has indeed failed.

Not a very coherent post. Just a lament.

[Cabrone]

Sad news and if this graph of world population is anything to go by then it's odds on that there are going to be plenty more extinctions to come, GW or not.

http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/popgrowthproj/worldpop.html

[OilIsMastery]

Pfff. That article is right-wing propaganda. Everyone knows that Chinese Communists are innocent. If the river dolphin went extinct it's obviously because of Bush's global warming and not Chinese Communists.

[Lore]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'e')dit: the jerk does have his own blog and has thus created his own reality. all for himself. what an accomplishment.

[carini]

The Yangtze finless porpoise is the next mammal in line. The yangtze sturgeon, the worlds largest freshwater fish, is now basically extinct. I think 2 were caught in 03 or 05 and none have been seen since.

Many of the worlds largest freshwater fish are on the very brink as we speak.

What people need to do is to take genetic samples of these animals, cryogenically freeze them and hope that in 1000 years we will have the technology to clone them and bring back what we have killed off. But the problem is no one is gonna pay for that kind of project.

We live in a disposable society, where everything is taken for granted.